How to spot a suspicious statistic

Untruths sneak into our lives in all kinds of ways. Sometimes they’re outright lies. Blatant misinformation.

But in this episode, we’re going to talk about something else - those sneaky numbers and claims that bounce around our society and that aren’t exactly false, but are leading you down the wrong path.

That’s the subject of a book called May Contain Lies by Alex Edmans, a professor of finance at London Business School.

Tim talks to Alex about the statistical claims that might not be wrong, but aren’t right either – and how to make sure you aren’t fooled by them yourself.

Presenter: Tim Harford

Producer: Tom Colls

Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown

Sound mix: Andrew Garratt

Editor: Richard Vadon